Tag: March 2017
Massachusetts Fisherman Pleads Guilty to Fraudulent Fishing Scheme
BOSTON – Carlos Rafael, 65, owner of one of the largest commercial fishing businesses in the United States, has pleaded guilty to a massive fraud scheme that involved falsifying records and smuggling proceeds abroad. Rafael, who owns Carlos Seafood, Inc., admitted to conspiring to commit offenses against the United States, false labeling and fish identification,…
Captain Cynthia Lyerla Faces Decade for Stolen Life
GALVESTON, TX – Cynthia Lyerla, 53, of League City, Texas, isn’t just a ship captain; she’s a fraud who built a career on a stolen life. Lyerla pleaded guilty today to aggravated identity theft and making false statements in a passport application, a case that unravels decades of deception to maintain her position with Majestic…
Las Cruces Man Pleads Guilty to Methamphetamine Trafficking
ALBUQUERQUE – Jose Angel Sanchez, 35, of Las Cruces, N.M., has entered a guilty plea in federal court for methamphetamine trafficking. The grim charges stem from an arrest on December 2, 2016, where law enforcement seized approximately 229.5 grams of the drug with intent to distribute. The defendant was already under supervised release following a…
Drunk Driver Takes Life: Yazzie Pleads Guilty
ALBUQUERQUE, NM – A life extinguished, a family shattered. Thomas J. Yazzie, Jr., 52, of Farmington, New Mexico, admitted today to the reckless act that claimed another life. Yazzie pleaded guilty in federal court to an involuntary manslaughter charge stemming from a deadly drunk driving incident. The case dates back to May 10, 2016, when…
57 Years for Cell Phone Store Robbery Kingpin
CHICAGO – Eric Curtis, 32, of Park Forest is facing a long stretch behind bars after a federal judge slammed him with a 57-year prison sentence today. Curtis was the ringleader of a ruthless crew that systematically robbed cell phone stores across the Chicago suburbs, leaving a trail of terrified employees and customers in their…
Shreveport Drug Ring Leader Linda Brown Sentenced to 46 Months
SHREVEPORT, La. — A Shreveport woman has been sentenced to 46 months in prison for her leadership role in a cocaine and methamphetamine distribution operation spanning four parishes in Louisiana. Linda G. Brown, 61, was handed the sentence by U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr. on one count of conspiracy to possess with intent…
Trenton Heroin Ring: ‘Meech’ & ‘T-Rod’ Fall
TRENTON, N.J. – Two Trenton men are facing serious time after admitting their roles in a large-scale heroin distribution network that flooded the city and surrounding areas with the deadly drug. Keith Hunter, a/k/a “Meech,” 24, and Thomas Rogers, a/k/a “Herb,” a/k/a “T-Rod,” 23, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges, effectively turning on the ‘Abdullah…
Wellington’s Kesner Joaseus Sentenced for $380k Fraud
GRIMY TIMES EXCLUSIVE: Kesner Joaseus, 47, the Wellington-based mastermind behind a multi-million dollar real estate and identity theft scam, was sentenced yesterday to 11 years in prison. The U.S. District Judge Robin L. Rosenberg delivered the blow-to-the-chest sentence after Joaseus admitted to orchestrating two elaborate fraud schemes. Joaseus’s first scheme involved assuming the identity of…
Seymore Admits Role in ‘Steals & Deals’ Laundering Ring
Seymore Admits Role in ‘Steals & Deals’ Laundering Ring JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A key player in a brazen money laundering operation disguised as a legitimate business has confessed to federal crimes. Jason A. Seymore, 41, of Cresson, Pa., pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Kim R. Gibson today to a charge of conspiring to…
Airman Admits to $725K TRICARE Kickback Scheme
TAMPA, FL – Nikkos Hamlett, 29, of Brandon, Florida, has confessed to participating in a brazen scheme to defraud the TRICARE healthcare benefit program, according to Acting United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow. Hamlett pleaded guilty to conspiracy to pay kickbacks, a federal offense carrying a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. A…
